During the manufacturing of rotating components used with gas turbine engines, the balance of such components are controlled to a specified tolerance. In most engines, the speed at which components within the engine are balanced is less than the operational speed of the rotating components and location and balance correction is the best practical guess of where the unbalance is occurring. If the balance correction parameters used are not appropriate, the unbalance operation of the rotating components at design and operating speed can cause bending of the rotating components resulting in severe vibration. In many applications, the subassembly is assembled within the gas turbine engine, rotated to a preestablished speed, monitored to confirm an acceptable level of vibration due to unbalance and if that level exceeds a predetermined amount is disassembled from the engine and has the appropriate amount of balance weight properly positioned on the component and secured thereto by welding, bolting or grinding and reassembled.
In other applications, the gas turbine engine structure or outer case is built in segments such as an outer case being formed in halves, thirds or quarters. After the rotating components have been assembled in the gas turbine engine, rotated to a preestablished speed, monitored to determine the out of balance position and amount, a portion of the segments is disassembled from the engine and has the appropriate amount of balance weight properly positioned on the component and secured thereto and the case is reassembled.
The time and expense of such operations is unwanted, costly and inefficient.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.